Hiking With Sore Feet

[Wow]

I'm sure we've all had sore feet on the trail at one time or another, if you haven't, you will:(. On a pair of 30 mile Appalachian trail hikes, I suffered toe blisters and Achilles tendon problems. I sure learned some valuable lessons.

Good "broken in" boots are critical. Proper socks/liners are a lifesaver. Foot care, in general, is of the utmost importance. Foot powder, bandaids and moleskin can solve some of these issues. Pre-conditioning your feet can save you from a great deal of pain.

I've tried different boot lacing configurations to find the perfect balance.

I found some lacing techniques that can alleviate some problems right on the trail. I thought I'd pass them along. Keep on hikin'--Tim
Click on pics to enlarge

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[ThunderHawk7]

Thanks for the tips....Keeping an extra pair of socks or two in your pack can help the feet too....I am considering right around a 15 mile day hike across 3 maybe 4 of the Presidential Peaks in NH this coming summer. Pretty much going to have to haul ass and be in excellent condition to get it done!!!!

[icebucketjohn]

Nice pics & tips... thanks for sharing

[steelhead1]

I remember the sheer agony from when I was in the Airborne. All those 25 mile road marches..But man did that ever toughen my feet up.

Nothing worse than foot pain to ruin an outing. So just bumping what's been said. Extra socks are a life saver!

[eatwhatyoukeep]

Reminds me of a hike I took in Vermont. My ex wife was a workout aholic. We took an afternoon hike up a small mountain and she was going along at a frantic pace but no problem keeping up. We get up to the top of the mountain, get a drink of water and start back down. She is in panic mode at this point because she is afraid the exercise club will be closed before we make it back from our four hour hike. So she is almost running down the side of the mountain and I was simply following her.

When she finnnnaallllyyyy slows down a little bit I realize that she has led us down the wrong side of the mountain. I decided that there wasn't enough light left to be sure we could retrace our steps. I knew where we would come out but I was wearing new boots and my achiles was starting to hurt really bad. So we probably went on another two miles and were on a road headed the right direction but a long long walk ahead of us. I finally had to take off my hiking shoe so I was walking down the road with one shoe on and one shoe off.

We must have looked quite the sight as we walked toward a house where three people were standing outside. One of them happened to be the landowner whose family had farmed there since Vermont was first settled. He ended up driving us over to where we had left the car. Native Vermonters do NOT like FLATLANDERS but he found out I wasn't typical because I had two relatives with dairy farms. He even invited me back to visit which was one of the biggest compliments I had ever received

[ThunderHawk7]

Reminds me of a hike I took in Vermont. My ex wife was a workout aholic. We took an afternoon hike up a small mountain and she was going along at a frantic pace but no problem keeping up. We get up to the top of the mountain, get a drink of water and start back down. She is in panic mode at this point because she is afraid the exercise club will be closed before we make it back from our four hour hike. So she is almost running down the side of the mountain and I was simply following her.

When she finnnnaallllyyyy slows down a little bit I realize that she has led us down the wrong side of the mountain. I decided that there wasn't enough light left to be sure we could retrace our steps. I knew where we would come out but I was wearing new boots and my achiles was starting to hurt really bad. So we probably went on another two miles and were on a road headed the right direction but a long long walk ahead of us. I finally had to take off my hiking shoe so I was walking down the road with one shoe on and one shoe off.

We must have looked quite the sight as we walked toward a house where three people were standing outside. One of them happened to be the landowner whose family had farmed there since Vermont was first settled. He ended up driving us over to where we had left the car. Native Vermonters do NOT like FLATLANDERS but he found out I wasn't typical because I had two relatives with dairy farms. He even invited me back to visit which was one of the biggest compliments I had ever received

When I hiked Mt Washington...with the exception of being humbled on about the 3rd steep climb...the trip up was AWESOME....The trip down pretty much (........) Insert your favorite negative..."Rock Hopping" above the alpine zone is nothing like hiking per sey on the feet and legs especially on the way down. My hiking shoes were broke in just enough to maintain integrity on the trip down so no issue with toes jamming into the front of the boot. I have read alot about that happening....An extra pair of dry socks helps there too....I am going to remember those lace configurations just in case I ever run into that though...